S. A. Hussain Scientist
Syed Abdulla Hussain (13 August 1944 – 30 December 2009) was an Indian ornithologist. He is best known for the work he undertook at the Bombay Natural History Society (BNHS) along with Salim Ali. A species of frog Nyctibatrachus hussaini from Kudremukh near his home, was named after him but the species name later became embroiled in controversy.Hussain was born in Karkala, near Mangalore (then a part of the Madras Presidency) where his father was a noted lawyer. His early education was at Basti Mission School and obtained a university degree in science from Sri Bhuvanendra College at Karkala. He applied for a field research position in the Bird Migration study project of the Bombay Natural History Society and although he had no formal education in zoology, Salim Ali found him very observant and accepted him. Hussain accompanied Ali on numerous expeditions and later conducted surveys on his own. Hussain became assistant curator of the BNHS in 1979, a senior scientist from 1985 to 1990 and then a deputy director of research until 1992. He later moved to Malaysia where he headed the Asian Wetland Bureau. He was also briefly the vice-chairman of BirdLife International. In 1974, he was part of a group that went in search of the forest owlet at a locality falsely claimed by Richard Meinertzhagen.After retiring from work, he moved back to live in Karkala, where he started the Biodiversity Initiative Trust. The organization worked locally, particularly for conservation of the Kudremukh region. In 2003, he suggested a plan for the conversion of the Kudremukh Iron Ore Company township into a biodiversity research station as mining in this biodiversity hotspot had been stopped by the Indian government. He died of a heart attack at his home on 30 December 2009.
